season champs part 2

SEASON CHAMPIONS, PART II —

Wealth in this context comes in numbers, but not dollars. Despite the title of this feature, most if not all of the boats profi led in this issue don't cost a lot to purchase, berth or operate. The designs are old and plentiful, and newcomers to the fl eets can get started without a big outlay of cash. To make it to the top of the scoreboard, of course it helps to have new sails, a fresh racing bottom, and gear that won't bust in a blast of breeze. Perhaps equally or more important is time spent on the water, and, for those boats that aren't sailed singlehanded, the crew.

Santana 22 — Albacore

Mike Quinn/Frank Van Kirk, RYC Mike Quinn and Frank Van Kirk have owned Albacore for four years. "We started racing her immediately," says Mike. "Frank and I had been sailing together in another fl eet, but we wanted to fi nd an active design that could be raced by three people. The fact that the Santana 22 is also economical was a bonus. We bought Albacore for $4,500 with new rigging, new sails and a new bottom job from KKMI. That was a pretty good bargain! "We wet-sail the boat out of RYC and were almost immediately competitive in the fl eet. It's possible that we could be a fraction slower in super-light air, but there is no difference when it blows. We like heavy air!" Their toughest regatta this year was RYC's Big Daddy in March. "That day started out mean and got nastier as it went. Cold, windy and blowing from the south. We saw at least 10 boats turn back — not from the Santana fl eet — before they even exited the Richmond breakwall. Jan Grygier sailed an awesome regatta that day, could not be touched, and fi nished comfortably in fi rst." Their favorite regatta was the Nationals in July, also hosted by RYC. "The sailing was beautiful, with the wind getting stronger every day. We had 15 boats on the line. Chris Klein won the event. Albacore got second. Phil Vandenberg ended the regatta with bullet, bullet to fi nish third. Newcomer Logan Jager, who was rigging his new boat at the RYC docks for the week leading up to the regatta, fi nished fourth." Crew on Albacore include Larry Nelson, Todd Edmister and Grant Edmister (an RYC Junior — actually, all of them belong to RYC). This winter, the fl eet is enjoying the Jack Frost Regatta, hosted by EYC. "We

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had 11 boats on the line, in beautiful November conditions, for Races 1 and 2. "Did I mention you can get into a raceready Santana 22 for less than $5,000, and that you can win wet- or dry-sailed?"

1) Albacore; 2) Alegre, Chris Klein, RYC; 3) Carlos, Jan Grygier, RYC. (15 boats)

'Albacore' leads a school of Tunas in a Great Pumpkin race. Their bow crews appear to have taken a page from the Folkboat playbook.

Michael Quinn and Frank Van Kirk

J/24 — Downtown Uproar Darren Cumming/Melissa Litwicki, SSS "The J/24s had a blast this year," reports Melissa Litwicki, "with fi ve or six regular participants showing up for eight season-counter regattas (as well as multiple RYC Wednesday night beer cans): StFYC's Spring One Design, SFYC's Resin Regatta and Summer Keel, the Great Vallejo Race, Jazz Cup, Richmond's Great Pumpkin, and two fl eet-only events, one PRO'd by Jeff Zarwell and one by Robin Van Vliet. We had a total of 30 races, with 6 throwouts. "As the winner of last year's District Championships, Jasper Van Vliet and the Evil

ALL PHOTOS LATITUDE / CHRIS EXCEPT AS NOTED

Octopus team ventured to Miami for the J/24 Worlds this past

October. We also cobbled together two crews to go down to Valle de

Bravo in late April/early May for the J/24 North Americans. Last but not least, we set up our own very casual Ditch event and took a couple of J/24s to Rio Vista for the long Fourth of July holiday weekend. We had a resoundingly awesome time." "This was a pretty challenging season for us," said Darren Cumming. "We had a fairly slow start, not placing very well in the fi rst couple of events. I also skipped the Great Vallejo Race this year to watch the foiling catamarans. All this made it feel like we were playing catch-up the rest of the year.

We found our legs in the end and posted a lot of regatta wins in the second half of the season. "StFYC's Spring One Design was pretty tough. We had to sail that one shorthanded, unfortunately. Conditions got the better of us, and it just wasn't possible for us to sail competitively. We fi nished the weekend with smiles, but we were down in the standings. "The fi nal regatta of the season, the Great Pumpkin, was pretty exciting. Everything was just clicking aboard

Downtown. We had good starts and were on the correct side of the course. Our maneuvers were so fast and fl uid, it just felt great. We scored three bullets for the day and clinched the season win. "Loren Moore joined us (on trim) again for the majority of the season events. We enjoy his strength and expertise. Carol Holder was new to Downtown this season. Carol is super-fun to sail with, and a big contributor to our success. Melissa, my partner in Downtown Uproar, continues as most talented and valuable foredeck. Marina Modlin and Paul Zimmer, each continuing on from last year, joined us for several events this year. Ilya Fishman, Ivan Hayes, Michele Soumpton and even Loren's cousin from Switzerland, Eli, all joined us in a race this year. We're happy to share the boat and good times with them all." For their winter season, the J/24 fl eet is joining Jeff Zarwell's Winter One Design. "But there are regular informal Sunday fun matches run out of Richmond — our own 'Frosty' series — if people want to bring out their own boats to join or are looking to crew," advises Litwicki. "Interested folks can reach out to us via www.facebook.com/j24sf."

Darren Cumming and Melissa Litwicki

1) Downtown Uproar, 44 points; 2) Shut Up and Drive, Valentin Lulevich, OPBYC, 49; 3) Evil Octopus, Jasper Van Vliet, RYC, 63. (6 boats)

Knarr — Niuhi Randy Hecht/Russ Silvestri, StFYC The Bay Area Knarr fl eet has a heavy schedule: 29 races with 5 throwouts, ending with the Leukemia Cup on October 20. Russ Silvestri's favorite event of the season was the Resin Regatta at SFYC in April. He recalls "sailing home in 35 knots, laughing all the way at the absurdity. Resin Regatta was really, really windy! Knarrs are strong boats. We had a good series. We got good starts, had OK upwind speed and fast downwind, which I credit to Laser and Finn sailing, where you go by the lee to reaching to ride the wave. "Other highlights are the family dinners after the Wednesday night races at StFYC — a ton of fun." The International Knarr Championship (IKC), hosted by SFYC in September, was by far their most diffi cult regatta. It required a different mindset. "The team was committed all year to the task of winning the IKC. We had a set of objectives and key results that drove our effort all year. We missed out on a few boatspeed things in the breeze, but we've learned what they are now." Randy Hecht owns the boat; Silvestri drives. (Hecht was traveling when we prepared this report.) The crew this year were Ethan Doyle, trim; and Nick Leal, bow; with Spencer Cole and Halsey Richartz fi lling in. Incidentally, Russ is the latest inductee into the Redwood High School (in Larskpur, class of '79) Hall of Fame. In 2020, Silvestri says they plan to "go to Bergen, with Randy driving!" Bergen, Norway, will host the next IKC in August. See www.knarr.us.

Russ Silvestri

1) Niuhi, 57 points; 2) Jon Perkins, Aquavit, SFYC, 77; 3) Gjendin, Graham Green, StFYC, 120. (20 boats)

Ultimate 20 — U Decide Phil Kanegsberg, RYC This year, the Ultimate 20 fl eet sailed the RYC Midwinters and Big Daddy, the Behrens and HO Lind at Tiburon YC, the Pacifi c Coast Championship at Monterey Peninsula YC, the North Americans at Sandpoint Sailing Center in Idaho, and the Great Pumpkin back at RYC. The season ended with a tie. "The tie was broken based on the number of races where the two boats competed, and Phil had more wins over Dave Woodside," reports fl eet captain Mike Josslyn.

U Decide's favorite regatta was the PCCs, for great attendance with a good group of people and diverse sailing conditions. "Donna Womble (Peabody) and MPYC put on a great event and helped with housing in an expensive area," reports Denise Hammond. "The Nationals provided some interesting sailing weather. Rain is almost never pleasant to sail in (or to wait to sail in). The Great Pumpkin offered the following insight: If your crew tells you 'No, it is once around,' don’t follow the lead boat. (Drivers: Always listen to the tactician. Even if they are wrong, you will not hear the end of it if you don’t.) Phil

SEASON CHAMPIONS, PART II —

Left to right: Phil and Torston Kanegsberg, Ruby, Shawn MacCabe and Denise Hammond at the East Keystone Canyon trailhead in northwest Reno. "Don't all of your sailors send pictures from the desert?" quipped Hammond.

threw away a fi rst with that maneuver." Joining the crew in various races were Mike Josselyn, Julian Slee, Shawn MacCabe and Michael Mayberry. Phil and Denise loaned out their son Torston to Dave Woodside on UAgain and Michael Eisenberg on Toon Town. "He likes to beat us," said Denise. "It has been an interesting year for us. Julian Slee, our regular third and favorite Aussie ex-pat, injured himself and could not race for much of the year. The weather for the Midwinters forced the cancellation of January and February’s races (which we appreciated since driving over from Reno involves the I-80 pass and ugly driving conditions in that weather)." Denise signifi cantly injured her hand in May and therefore didn’t race as a functioning crew again until the Great Pumpkin. "Shawn MacCabe and Phil drove 13 hours from Reno to Sand Point, ID, with only one trailer fl at tire on the way. It only took Phil and Shawn 20 minutes to change the tire (advantages to having great tools — thanks Shawn), and then a 45-minute detour to get new tires in La Grande, OR. "The competition was close, and we only just barely squeaked by on a tie-breaker. Basically, some lucky breaks let us be in front of Dave." U Decide's plans for 2020 include the RYC Midwinters and Big Daddy; Go for the Gold ("Torston typically drives for this one and crew is typically Denise and a friend of Torston’s that typically has never sailed or raced before. The boys enjoy the swimming and racing against some great Catalina 22s"); PCCs ("the date is not set for this, so there may be a confl ict with Go for the Gold"); High Sierra; and Great Pumpkin. "Torston is hoping to be a sailing in-

structor at Lake Tahoe this summer. (He was a Junior Instructor last summer.) In addition, we try to make Sail a Small Boat Day at RYC, and help with race committee for Big Dinghy, Lipton Cup and Totally Dinghy."

U DECIDE

Chris Cassell and Craig McDow

1) U Decide, 44.4 points; 2) UAgain, Dave Woodside, RYC, 4.4; 3) Breakaway, John Wolfe, RYC, 29.6. (8 boats)

Cal 20 — Baby Blue

Craig McDow/Chris Cassell, CYC "Attendance at our fl eet regattas was light this year, to put it mildly," said the Cal 20 fl eet captain, Richard vonEhrenkrook. "However, two boats attended every race, one sometimes while actually falling apart. This did not dissuade their skipper, nor their stalwart crew. When others bailed out, sometimes for justifi able reasons, sometimes not, one boat came out to play, regardless of the prospects for victory. "That boat was Dr. Craig McDow’s Baby Blue, ably crewed by Chris Cassell, her co-owner. In the Big Daddy, when others headed for home, they stayed and competed. In the Resin Regatta, they stayed and competed, even when they had a delaminating main bulkhead. Fully repaired, they came out for the CBRA series when others stayed home. And, in the Great Pumpkin, they showed up, along with the other three of us Cal 20s. They did us proud.

"Therefore, I propose to the fl eet members that Baby Blue be given the Honorary Fleet Champion award for this year. This is not intended as a 'goodminton' or 'everyone’s a winner' award, but instead

in recognition of their solid commitment to the fl eet. "I hope their example will be food for your stoke in 2020," he added in a message to the fl eet. "Baby Blue is hull #506, built in 1964," says Chris Cassell. "I got the boat in 2004 in Redwood City to learn how to sail. We've been racing this boat with the fl eet for fi ve years now. "At the end of the 2018 race season we replaced some broken spreaders and shroud fi ttings on the mast," he reports. "We thought we were in good shape for the 2019 race season. We think it was during the Big Daddy in March that a structural support to hold the bulkhead in column place failed. This went unnoticed, since it was mostly in place and not in plain sight. "During a rough CBRA race in May out on Southampton, our boom split from corrosion where the vang attached. We borrowed a boom for the next day and arranged to get a replacement. During this time we installed a jib halyard tension adjustment control. We had our new boom and vang in time for the next fl eet race, CBRA #2 on June 1. "The wind was heavy as usual that day, and we had everything cranked down tight on the upwind legs. I remember the lee spreaders sagging a bit more than usual during the last race. On the way back home, as we sailed up Raccoon Strait, I noticed we weren't pointing as high as usual. The lee spreaders were sagging even more. That's when I noticed the deck under the mast-step sagging too. Then I looked below decks and gasped when I saw the crushed bulkhead. "We dropped sails quickly, secured the mast on either side with the halyards so that it wouldn't slam back and forth, attached the outboard, and motored back into the dock to assess the situation. We dropped the mast before we hauled the boat. With the new controls and the broken support piece, the bulkhead had crushed down like a soda can. Fortunately the laminate on the deck held and didn't crack." "Chris put a heck of a lot of work into this season," added Craig McDow. "I couldn’t ask for a better boat buddy." See www.sfbaycal20.com.

Mercury — Citron Lyn Hines, RYC Lyn Hines tells how he became a Mercury sailor: "My wife and I were racing a borrowed International 110 at Inverness YC. The overlapping jib was hard to get in, and we heard that a cut-down Mercury jib was legal. After looking at the Mercury website for a used genoa, I thought this boat was more suited to my wife and me, since there wasn't a trapeze and spinnaker. We were able to get a Mercury jib — but ended up buying the boat at the same time. It's been two years now and we have been a lot of places and made some good friends." The top scores for the California statewide Travel Trophy were very close in 2019: One point separated fi rst, second and third place. "The guys who went to some of the counting Travel Trophy regatta events got bonus points for placing," said Hines. "We were moving up in the fl eet, but it's not easy to place with talented and experienced sailors. I would like to say we won because of our top results, but for the most part, it was because we showed up for regattas, which is what the trophy is about." Hines particularly enjoyed the Perry Cup in Monterey. "I like the ocean swell and wildlife." He found diffi cult venues in SoCal. "Sailing in San Pedro at Hurricane Gulch is always a challenge because of the local competition." In 2020, Hines plans to continue sailing the fleet's schedule but also help new people get involved and see if a Mercury fi ts into their goals. "There is an emerging fl eet in Santa Cruz, so I would really like to see that happen. We are also working on a Mercury Archive project to document Mercury history. Other than that, I'll be helping my wife learn to sail her El Toro, "Odile, my wife, has been sailing with me since we started Mercurys. She started off without much sailing experience and has learned so much that we won the Jack and Jill Trophy during the Nationals in Richmond this year. It

was great to see a more than 50% male/ female mix in the fi rst Perry Cup in Monterey just recently." Lyn is particularly proud to win the Travel Trophy, which has been named after Pax Davis. "Pax has done so much, not only for the Mercury Class, but for the sailing community in general." 1) Citron, 16 points; 2) Fortran, John Ravizza, StFYC, 15; 3) Stars, Jim Bradley, StYC, 15. (29 boats) Express 27 Long Distance Series — Abigail Morgan Ron & Oliver Kell, CYC The Express 27 Championship Series consists of 27 races; 14 are required to qualify. The Long Distance Series included 11 races. The last race of year, the Great Pumpkin pursuit on October 27, was not sailed due to extreme winds, so fi ve were needed to qualify for the season. The father-and-son team of Ron and

Lyn Hines with Pax Davis and the C. Paxton Davis Travel Trophy

Oliver Kell topped the Long Distance Series — again. "I think we have won three of the last four," said Oliver. "Every year is great. Great competition in our fl eet, great variety with the ocean races vs. Bay Tours, and challenging but different conditions

SEASON CHAMPIONS, PART II

Ron and Oliver Kell and Seth Cohen

every time out. You always have the tides, but one week it can be blowing 5 knots and the next 25 knots, so you have to be prepared for anything." "I enjoy the strategy of fi nding the best way to get around the course," added Ron. "We had some very mixed results. We were able to recover from some disasters in the Three Bridge Fiasco and the fi rst day of the Great Vallejo Race with some good performances in other races. "The SSS races are the most fun: interesting courses and good competition. The Express fl eet usually has a good turnout for the shorthanded races, and being able to have one-design racing is fabulous. "My son Oliver is a big part of our success, with great contributions from Jack Hastings, Kim Niu, Matt Everett, Seth Cohen, Chris and Rich Davison and Rich Korman." Topping the Championship Series, the nearly invincible Motorcycle Irene has won innumerable titles for the dynamic duo of Will Paxton and Zachery Anderson, This year, Zach was also honored by RYC as Sailor of the Year. See www.express27.org.

EXPRESS 27 LONG DISTANCE SERIES 1) Abigail Morgan, .87 points; 2) Salty Hotel, John Kearney, CYC, .85; 3) Wile E Coyote, Dan Pruzan, EYC, .77. (32 boats; 9 qualifi ers) EXPRESS 27 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES 1) Motorcycle Irene, Zach Anderson/Will Paxton, RYC, .98 points; 2) Wile E Coyote, .89; 3) Peaches, John Rivlin, StFYC, .77. (29 boats; 7 qualifi ers)

Laser — Gorilla Tactics Julian Soto, Del Rey YC Julian Soto's favorite Grand Prix event this year was the Tahoe Laser Championships at Stampede Reservoir in September. "Rick Raduziner really put on a great regatta. The BBQ was great, the camping was relaxing, and the conditions were diffi cult. One of the days, I hit 17.5 knots on a downwind. I have not seen the mast bend that way in a while." That regatta was also the most diffi cult, but the second-toughest was the Elvstrom Regatta at StFYC in May. "It blew hard the second day. I couldn't believe the chop that builds up at the Golden Gate Bridge. I ripped my sail that regatta, but still sailed the remainder of the races." Soto grew up in Venice (SoCal, not Italy) and has been sailing Lasers since 2005. His goals in 2020 are to "win the Laser North Americans at StFYC, and increase my VO2max!" We noticed that his sail number has ‘ECU’ in it. He's not from Ecuador, but his grandfather was. Laser Radial — Voyager 1

Toshinari Takayanagi, RYC "My favorite regatta in this year’s Grand Prix was Fall Dinghy at St. Francis YC," says repeat Radial champ Toshinari Takayanagi. "The regatta is always challenging, with strong breeze and more young talents in the race course. In fact, I straggled in the two regattas

at St. Francis in the spring. I had good sailing practice and physical training during this summer and autumn, so I was better prepared for the fall regatta. These efforts paid off, and I was able to fi nish in third. I was pretty happy about the result. "Outside the District Grand Prix, the European Masters Worlds held in Roses, Spain, was fantastic, with nice weather, nice breeze, beautiful sea and delicious foods. I was also pretty happy about winning the US Masters Nationals in Monterey Bay after fi ghting through the tight competitions. "The diffi cult ones were Spring Dinghy and Elvstrom regattas held at St Francis, as I mentioned above. I struggled with the Cityfront’s strong breeze and also made lots of mistakes, ending up with unhappy results. "Since I had bad scores at St. Francis regattas in the early race season, I was in the position to catch up with the two leading sailors. "In the summer, I had a couple of good regattas and was able to move up to the leading position. Then, I was able to defend it throughout the autumn. I was also able to feel more improvement in my sailing in the latter half of this race season. So, at the beginning it was not easy, but later I felt more comfortable. "There are two other sailors who sailed more than four regattas in the Grand Prix series. There are several very good Julian Soto sailors in this District, both masters sailors and youth sailors. They often sail faster than me. I just sailed more regattas, which is why I was able to win. Especially, young talents are amazing. Every time I meet them, I fi nd they have gotten bigger and faster! Trying to keep up with them on the race course is a challenge, but it motivates me and it is fun." In March 2020, Takayanagi plans to participate in the Masters Worlds in Geelong, Australia. "Since the place will have good breeze, this will be a challenging regatta for me, as I am a lightweight sailor. So, my goal is to train and practice enough so that I can feel confi dent and

TOSHI TAKAYANAGI

Toshinari Takayanagi

enjoy the high wind there." The West Coast Sailing Grand Prix for Lasers consisted of 16 regattas in a variety of venues. Laser class membership is required to qualify for fi nal standings, and sailors must participate in at least fi ve regattas. For more info, see http:// westcoastsailing-grand-prix.myfl eet.org. Laser District 24 secretary Stephen Aguilar donated the Marphen Trophy (named after Stephen's late wife, Marilyn, and himself). This trophy recognizes people in the middle of the fl eet who've been to the most regattas. Chris Simenstad and Sergio Rizzo in standard rigs and Hideki Saito in Radials received the award in 2019.

WEST COAST SAILING GRAND PRIX LASER STANDARD — 1) Gorilla Tactics, 160 points; 3) 'murrica, Lance Kim, TISC, 131; 3) Seaweed Magnet, Emilio Castelli, RYC, 102. (81 boats; 3 qualifi ers). LASER RADIAL — 1) Voyager I, 85. (51 boats; 1 qualifi er).

Evan Sullivan

El Toro Junior — Pinto Evan Sullivan, RYC El Toro regattas counting toward the Junior season were the Fremont Relays in May, the Regional Championship at Stockton Sailing Camp in June, the Mayor's Cup on Oakland's Lake Merritt in July, August's Hawaii State Championship and Nationals in Kaneohe, the West Marine Fun Regatta in Santa Cruz in September, and the Stampede at RYC in October. Evan Sullivan, 13, topped the Junior fl eet of kids 15 and under. "I have been sailing El Toros for about four years and all of them have been at Richmond Yacht Club," he said. "I love sailing because it's very competitive in the racing category, and I am a very competitive person." Evan's favorite regatta this past season was the El Toro Nationals in Kaneohe, Oahu. "It was so fun to sail in a new environment. The only scary parts of the season were at Hawaii, when the wind started to really pick up into the 20-25s, in which I capsized a lot. "I still have plans to keep sailing and see no point where I will stop," he added. See www.eltoroyra.org.

1) Evan Sullivan; 2) Jenna Englehart, RYC; 3) Abby Mitchell, RYC. (22 boats)

You can take a look back at our November issue for coverage of more onedesign fl eets. And, you can look forward to profi les of the YRA, SSS and BAMA divisions — and possibly more — in the January edition of Latitude 38. — latitude/chris

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